


A Major Test of Heart

by clicheusername5678



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, all context is provided, anyone can read!, breath of the wild AU, self-indulgent crossover, some arguing but like. it's not serious angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:33:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23743111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clicheusername5678/pseuds/clicheusername5678
Summary: Breath of the Wild AU! Catra and Adora grew up in the Yiga Clan, training to serve Ganon as loyal footsoldiers. When Adora discovers her destined role in the war against Ganon, she has no choice but to leave Catra behind. Now Adora, Princesse Glimmer, and the royal archer Bow must infiltrate the Yiga Clan hideout to retrieve an important magical item. Adora is determined to end the war and save the world, but knows that her unresolved feelings for Catra could sabotage it all.You don't need to know anything about this game or The Legend of Zelda in general to understand this fic! There are some easter eggs, but they don't affect the plot.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	A Major Test of Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I have a thing for making Catradora AUs of my favorite video games, okay???   
> You don't need to know anything about BOTW or The Legend of Zelda in general to understand this fic. There are some easter eggs, but they don't affect the plot. Please let me know in the comments if anything needs clarification!

The Yiga Clan hideout hadn’t changed in the months since Adora left.

There was just something in Karusa Valley air that Gerudo lacked—moisture, maybe, compared to the sweltering desert. Adora missed the cool draft that flowed through the subterranean passageways, the smell of torches illuminating the halls. She remembered running through these halls, years ago, stealing a blademaster’s weapon on a dare. 

Despite her history, Adora had never seen this room before. She regarded the dimly-lit chamber, halved by metal bars, containing a few bananas just outside her reach. 

Well, that was just cruel. 

She had no idea how much time had passed since her capture. Adora wrapped her arms around herself, praying to Hylia that Glimmer and Bow had managed to escape. At least she knew the lay of the land— the princess and her loyal archer hadn’t visited Gerudo once before they came searching for the Champion. 

It felt like fate that, only months earlier, a vision of the previous Champion had passed her legacy onto Adora. A loyal Yiga footsoldier at the time, she had recovered a scimitar lodged in the desert sand, triggering past visions of the war against Ganon. Among several other Champions, a Gerudo warrior named She-Ra had fought his dark forces for many years before perishing in battle.

Adora knew some history about Ganon and the war, mostly pertaining to the Yiga Clan. Its founders were Sheikah outcasts, alienated because of their gifts, with a burning hatred towards society. Ganon gave them a powerful ally and icon to serve. 

Growing up in the Yiga Clan, Adora knew her life’s path. She’d train until she was nineteen, at which time she'd finally venture outside the valley on her first mission. Every young Yiga foot soldier faced this trial in order to receive magical abilities from the Master Sorceress, Shadow Weaver. In pairs of two, they traveled Hyrule and attacked anyone who seemed to defy Ganon’s spread. Older footsoldiers did this with the aid of flash-teleportation, shapeshifting, and levitation powers, but those privileges were earned. 

Adora found the sword only days before she and her partner were to set out on their mission. Horrified by the atrocities she witnessed, she accepted her destiny as the new Gerudo champion and sought out their leader, Mara. Although Adora was no longer a child, she liked to think of Mara as her newfound guardian figure, replacing the cold and manipulative Shadow Weaver. She denounced the sorceress completely when Mara told her she had been stolen by the Yiga Clan as a baby to prevent the rise of another Champion. 

Despite all its familiar comforts, Adora did not regret leaving the Yiga Clan. She wanted to stop Ganon and save Hyrule, not only because of her destiny, but also because it was the right thing to do. Truthfully, there was also some guilt involved, given her near-indoctrination with the enemy.

After making her way to town through the Gerudo desert, Princess Glimmer had explained her mission to Adora. Apparently she and Bow needed to find the four Champions in order to fight Ganon, who currently occupied Hyrule castle. The only reason Ganon hadn’t already overtaken the world was Glimmer’s mother, Angella, who staved him off in a ceaseless state of magical agony. Along with her royal archer and best friend Bow, Glimmer had escaped with her mother’s instructions, some Sheikah technology, and the Master Sword. Compared to that legendary weapon, She-Ra’s scimitar seemed ordinary as a Yiga sickle.

Glimmer and Bow requested Adora’s help in reaching the Divine Beast Vah Naboris, a superweapon originally intended to destroy Ganon but now corrupted by his magic. In order to reach Vah Naboris, Mara told the princess she’d need the Thunder Helm, a Gerudo artifact the repelled the same fatal electric energy She-Ra hadn't survived.

For a moment, Adora was relieved by the simple objective—but then Mara explained the Helm's current location: The Yiga Clan hideout. Upon hearing this, Adora felt a pang of guilt. It was a lot easier to leave her old home behind when she didn’t need to invade it. 

Of course, there was also the matter of her former partner… 

"Look who’s awake," said a form hidden in the darkness. The visitor shut the door behind her, stalking towards Adora's cell. Adora inhaled sharply at the glowing mismatched eyes, confused by the pang of relief in her chest.

"Hey, Adora." 

Adora could _hear_ the smirk in her voice. "Catra," she said, "I can explain." 

Her former best friend entered the cell’s dim light, revealing a new footsoldier uniform. It… suited her, Adora had to admit—but she looked so tired.

"You know," Catra said, "everyone thought you were dead."

Adora raised an eyebrow. "You didn’t tell…?"

"Like I was going to admit we snuck out of the hideout, especially when you took a solo trip hours later and disappeared."

"I gave you a chance to come with me," Adora said. "I risked my life getting back here, just to tell you what happened and where I’d gone." 

"Risked mine too," Catra replied. "You really do only think about yourself... oh, and your new friends, too."

Adora's stomach dropped. "Did they…?"

"Fall onto a bunch of blademasters while sneaking along the ceiling rafters? Absolutely." 

"Are they okay?"

Catra grinned like she ate the canary. "For now." 

Adora had been devastated about abandoning her best friend, so much so that she ignored Mara’s advice and snuck back to see her days after defecting. In the time since then, Adora had hoped Catra would come to her senses and they would finally reunite. But the young woman before her was still just as stubborn as the one she left.

"Catra," Adora breathed, "please." 

"Please what?" 

"Just listen to me."

Catra groaned, peeling a banana from the Yiga Clan's seemingly endless stash. Her silence as she devoured it seemed to serve as permission. 

"You’re not evil," Adora said, "but the Yiga Clan is." 

Catra faked a dramatic yawn. "I’ve already heard this speech. Keep up."

Adora groaned with frustration. "It's just—how can you know everything about the war, Yiga’s mission, and stay loyal? Don't you ever wonder where you came from before you were raised by Shadow Weaver? Don't you hate her and everything she stands for?"

Catra's scowl deepened. "We've actually gotten closer since you left. At first she suspected that I had something to do with your disappearance… but after a while, things have improved. She’s training me in Sheikah magic now, since my mission with Scorpia was such a success."

 _Scorpia_. Adora didn't like Scorpia. Well, she didn't actually _know_ Scorpia, but there was something about the way Catra said her name...

"We could have been great," Catra said. "It bet it keeps you up at night, knowing I'm better off without you."

"Don’t you…" Adora’s voice cracked, "Don’t you miss me?" 

A moment of silence. 

"No," Catra answered. "I don’t." 

Tears pricking her eyes, Adora found it difficult to breathe. Adora had experienced loss when she left the hideout, Shadow Weaver, even Mara to depart with Bow and Glimmer. Somehow, this was so much worse.

Adora turned to her side and avoided Catra’s gaze. 

" _What_ ," Catra demanded, "Nothing to say?"

Adora didn’t trust herself to speak evenly. What about their lifetime of sharing a bed? Sparring matches that always ended in giggling piles? The way Adora comforted Catra after run-ins with Shadow Weaver, the way Catra calmed Adora before stressful fight simulations?

Adora could handle a few months without Catra by her side. The thought of a lifetime made her sob. 

"Whatever, silent treatment," Catra muttered, stretching her arms above her head. "I’m gonna go check out the stuff we confiscated. I bet She-Ra’s scimitar will look great beside the Thunder Helm."

She shut the door behind her like it was nothing, leaving only a banana peel behind.


End file.
